roadrebel

I had only 4 new bikes bought in my life. All the countless others were used or parts bikes that I rebuilt or reassembled in one form or another. I've been doing this since I was a teenager. I always had this passion for wrenching up my own bike. Any shortcomings on bikes upon aquisition were usually obvious.

One story still puzzles me:
I was car-less in 1992. Passing a bike shop I saw this real nice roadbike infront of the store with a 4-sale sign on it.
I get of the bus check it out and like it, go inside square the deal and buy it.

All the decals on the bike said 'Colnago', so I thought I had bought and was sold a Colnago roadbike.
Now I have to mention, that the name Colnago didn't mean a thing to me because I simply didn't know the make, back then.

To make the long story short, for years I thought I had a Colnago, even after I removed the decals, until some years back I found out it wasn't one.

I still have the bike, it's a fantastic CroMoly steel frameset with Shimano Dura Ace/600 components. I love it, regardless, but I happen to have absolutely no idea what the make of this frameset might be ....

Ps. just bought a CAAD8 used from another forum member. Very nice bike!

McLoki

I just purchased a used bike off of e-bay to replace my 1986 Bridgestone 450. (first new to me bike in 24 years) What I purchased was a 2007 Scott CR-1 Pro. (Carbon Fiber bike / Ultegra Components) Add said it was purchased new in 2009 and had "normal" wear. After the purchase, I asked the seller if he knew how many miles were on the bike and was told somewhere in the neighboorhood of 4,000-5,000. (said he had multiple bikes and does not pay strict attention to what miles are put on what bikes). I guess I did not expect that many miles, but then again - I did not think to ask until after I had purchaed the bike.

When I got the bike there were a few nicks and scuffs, but nothing much. No indication it had ever been wrecked The breaks could use some adjustment, but that will wait until next riding season. I have had the bike for a week now and have been very happy with it. I saved quite a bit of money on the bike vs purchasing at a LBS and would certainly purchase it again. I paid the average going rate for the bike (around $1,200) A good deal, but not spectacular by any means. What I got was a solid bike that had been decently well cared for and in good shape.

The seller has been great (even after the sale) answering questions for me and I am happy so far. I would purchase another used bike in a heartbeat.

Michael

mawtangent

I wanted to try out a chromoly-framed bike a few years ago (I'd mostly ridden aluminum and cheap department-store steel). I found an old (later found out it was from '86) Schwinn Traveler on ebay. The seller described the bike as ready-to-ride, no-rust, etc. I paid $150 ($100 for the bike + $50 for shipping). I was initially disappointed (there was some rust, mostly on the pedals, the chain was stiff from time, lack of lubricant, and the back tire rolled in such a way as to make it look like the back-wheel was terribly out of true, and the tire had to be immediately replaced). I suspect this bike had some exposure to the weather at some point and the seller didn't even make an attempt to make it "ready-to-ride" (maybe it was described as being from an estate sale, I don't remember). On the plus side I've not had trouble with the spokes being "frozen" in place, also no trouble with a stuck seat-post etc., maybe it had been sitting for years in a garage at least. I oiled the chain and loosened up some stiff links in the chain and bought a new tire for $8. I rode the bike and really liked it. Over the next year I put in another $30 or so (another tire, some tubes, had the crank and rear-hub relubed at a bike shop). I don't think much of the ebay seller's competence and/or honesty but after I put a little bit of time and money into the bike I feel like I had a decent bike worth the $200 I had invested.

The upside on this bike was that it was a decent bike in its day (At least at notch or two above the lowest-end Schwinns of the mid-80's), it was under 30 lbs (light enough for me), the rims were the better aluminum-alloy (meaning, not steel), the frame was true and sound, and it fit me better than what I was riding at the time. I sort of had to make "lemon-aid out of lemons" with having to fix the things I discribed. I feel fortunate in that it could have been a true disaster (warped frame, bent rims, etc.)

To sum up, It's good if you can see and ride the bike before you buy (the closest LBS to me is around 40 miles away and there is hardly any market for good used bikes where I live, that is one reason I've bought several bikes via on-line). Bikes are relatively simple machines and overall the things that can/do go wrong are on a much smaller scale than, say, a car. $50-$100 can go a long way with a basic ride (I'm not talking extravagant road bike set-ups) in getting a damaged bike road-worthy. It's rewarding and makes things simpler if you can at least do some simple things like fix flats and adjust brakes, one good thing about this that is you are not so dependent on someone else and their schedule (and paying their fees). This is something to consider in general, but if you are stressed about cash and you've just bought a used bike, maybe you don't want to immediately lay down some more cash for a few simple repairs/adjustments. Oh well, I'm sort of rambling, so I'll stop here.

mjoekingz28

Not a bad deal, I'm happy but I found a 92 Trek 1200 on Craigslist for a $100. I went to check it out (my first road bike) and the tires wouldn't hold air. I really wanted a test ride, but picked it up anyhow. The presta valves had come out, so I got new tubes and I'm riding. It came with Shimano clipless, so picked up some platforms. The seat was too soft, so got a take-off from the shop. Now I'm finding the front brake hangs up and won't fully release, so I'll need to take it in so I get the full benefit to my effort when pedalling.

It came with 23c tires when the website said 25c came on it. It's ok though and the 25-34 tubes from walmart happened to luckily fit.

So I'm out $10 seat, $20 pedals, $10 tubes and levers a $10 computer and now whatever a front brake rewire costs. I'm satisfied.

Seller was a pain to make happen. Wouldn't get back to me, but I persisted and finally got to go get the bike, wouldn't ya know, he didnt even show up at his house, his wife had to sell it to me. He was the worst part of the deal and I would've passed but I was all go on this deal since the LBS wanted $350 for older and lesser known names than Trek (remember thats all I pretty much know until reading here about Surly, Cannondale, Bianchi, etc).

Before that Trek, I got a Roadmaster montgomery ward bike on Craigslist for $40 and even got a test ride. IT rode good and got me started losing weight and riding again and I sold it a month or two later for the same price. Only thing sour with it was I couldn't raise the seat as the bolt was stripped, but the again the guy I sold it to told me he got it to work.


Unless you're talking super top-end then I think there is no chance of getting a raw deal as most people (around here at least) get a bike and lose interest after just a few rides and try to unload it. Now, I think, if you're talking $1000 bikes then the seller knows what he has, has probably ridden it alot and gets complicated in the fact he may be hiding flaws.

Also, you need to consider bicycle theives, if they're still around.

curbtender

It's good that you are educating yourself before you buy. Make sure you know what size frame you need because a used bike only comes in one size.

vol

But in fact, in most cases when I asked the seller what the frame was, they didn't know (some say they just bought the bike recently, but didn't even know what model).